Ocean Embrace
by CressidaKnightlark
Summary: Captain Felice Warren may be losing her ship and her crew, but there is no amount of misfortune that would not carry some good luck as well: losing something can sometimes make way for something new. [An OC focused Assassin's Creed: Black Flag one-shot. Rated M for language.]


Raindrops felt like pricks of needles against Felice's brown skin as she was on her knees on the deck of her own ship. On her knees on the deck of her own ship. Now there was a concept she had never imagined, at least not in such an unpleasant context. She was on her knees, in front of a treacherous birdbrain who had already stolen her crew and was about to steal the whole ship as well, and undoubtedly dump her into the sea that was not even nearly as raging as her emotions at that moment. She felt like there was a hell burning inside her, and she hoped that the dark offered by the storm was enough to hide at least some of the humiliation and enrage she felt.

"You know, I could just do the dirty work myself and decorate this deck with your brain", the mutiny-leading wench said, walking back and forth in front of her like a lazy cow on a summer day. Felice glared at her in an ugly manner, her brown eyes gleaming dangerously.

"No, I really don't think you could", she said. "You and I both know you don't like to get your hands dirty. You prefer to make others do the job for you and act like you never have anything to do with anything. What a sight it would be, you fighting your own battles." She inhaled, letting a breath run in the back of her throat with a loud rasp, and spat only inches away from the other woman's boots. "I doubt even Hell wants lowlifes like you, Kate."

"Harsh words", Kate said, her head dropping and lips curving into a pout which was quickly replaced by a mocking smirk. "And big words", she continued, "from someone who is about to take a very thorough bath. But don't worry, I wouldn't make you take that bath alone. Your friend", her eyes fixed on Edward, "will be joining you."

"He has nothing to do with this", Felice said quickly. Too quickly, even to her own liking, and she was mildly disgusted by her own self.

"Maybe so. But since he's not with us then he's with you, and we can't have anyone supporting _captain_ Warren on this ship."

"I swear on all the demons in Hell, I will kill you."

Finally the sound of boots hitting the deck ceased as Kate stopped. Felice's dark eyes were nailed to the other woman's back as she was pondering if her words had hit the intended target. Had she managed to shake her? Was she enraged? Was she scared? By the god she didn't have much faith in, Felice hoped so. She wanted Kate to realise that she was digging her own grave. She wanted her to know that her next action would be critical.

"Enough of this!" Kate said, and Felice felt a tingle of satisfaction as she recognised the slightest shiver of uncertainty in her voice. She had managed to waver her, to make her doubt her own plan, to make her think that what she was doing was indeed not the cleverest thing she could be doing. But even so, as shamelessly good as Felice felt in that single moment, Kate said: "Throw them into the sea. Let the waves have them for I will not suffer them another moment on _my_ ship."

 _My ship my ass_ , Felice thought as she felt hands on her body, lifting her up on her feet. How long had that infernal wench had the ship and the crew under her order; and how obnoxiously she was already behaving, like she had been the captain for years. _I swear, if she touches my hat… No, if she so much as breathes in the presence of it_ , the black woman sacrificed a thought to her precious hat lying alone and abandoned in her quarters as she was pushed, pulled, and dragged towards the edge of the ship. Her eyes sought Edward, and as their gazes met, Felice couldn't help feeling a tug of guilt in her heart. The firm certainty in the man's blue eyes told her that he didn't blame her, and that he was ready to follow her to the arms of the ocean. That bastard couldn't bring himself to blame her, though all responsibility rested on her shoulders, and there was a good amount of it. Had she ever truly appreciated their friendship before this very moment? Hadn't she taken his love and loyalty for granted? And was it a sufficient excuse that perhaps she had never seen his goodness because she had never felt like she would be deserving of such things? Absolutely not, she knew. As low as she was, it was her place and fate, and she was at peace with it, but it was violently uncomfortable to think she could never reach a state where she would deserve someone like Edward in her life. And still, he was there with, for, her.

"Any last words?" Kate questioned from behind a row of gritted teeth, managing to sound like a snake, fittingly.

"Do this to me, and I will kill you. Do this to him, and I will destroy you", Felice said. Her voice was calm and steady, running deep as if from the depths of her soul. During her life she had perfected that manner of speaking. It never left room for doubt: what she said was the undeniable, unwavering truth. And as she spoke the words, she made sure to nail Kate onto her place with her dark eyes, made sure to plant seeds of fear in her rotten heart so she would know that if Felice survived, she would hunt her down and drag her to hell with her very own hands.

"Charmed", Kate said quietly. For a brief moment the two women stared at each other, into each other's eyes, one throwing a challenge and the other one accepting it. Kate's best hope was to pray she would sink and disappear into the stormy sea, Felice thought to herself. _I am ready. The die is cast._

The new captain nodded her head, not breaking the eye contact. Felice felt a forceful yank towards the edge, the wood against her back… Her gaze travelled to Edward as time seemed to slow down so much it could have been ridiculous if it hadn't felt so deeply surreal. He was there, right there, watching her fall, knowing he would be next. She was so sorry she had rained this misfortune on him. Did he know that? She looked away, down to the grey water below. Was that how it would end? Was that how the watery mouth of hell would swallow her, that someone had pushed her there?

The surface hit her back so hard that her lungs emptied almost entirely. Felice, however, welcomed the sensation of cold as it seemed to bring her back to her senses. The end to her story? One mutiny, one bath in the waters she had sailed for nearly half her life? _Not a damn chance_ , she thought as she kicked herself what she only assumed was upwards. Besides, who would make Kate pay if not her? She absolutely could not let her soul leave her body with such a grand regret. Suddenly her hand, reaching up, grasped sweet nothing. Her head emerged from the water and a loud, desperate but definitely happy inhale filled her lungs with air. It was a start, to have her lungs be full of air instead of salty seawater. The next thing on her list was to worry about:

"Edward!" her voice travelled on the surface of the water, but only silence answered back. "Edward!" she called again, her head turning furiously as she was trying to spot the fair-haired pirate among the waves. Nothing. Only dark sea everywhere she looked. "Edward!" Her voice sounded tiny and lonely in the middle of the large waves. However, it was not an option to give up, so she continued to shout for Edward as she began to swim towards the general direction of the place where she assumed he had fallen into the water.

"Over here!" came the answer to her seventh call. Felice looked around but still saw nothing. She was about to shout again when an incoming wave lifted her just enough for her to see Edward in a valley between two large waves some dozens of feet away to her left. It was her instant thought that he must have gotten into a current to drift that far away from her. Either or, she had no time to think about it further. She began to crawl towards Edward, yelling for his guidance to insure she wouldn't lose her way in the storm.

"Thank fuck! I thought you were dead, you pig shit!" Felice said when she reached Edward.

"No such luck", he replied almost serious, which was not typical of him at all. She couldn't help it, his tone made her worry about their situation a bit more than necessary. He added: "That could change, though. We won't make it for long in this storm."

"Thank fuck again, but I have a plan", she said. "That idiot, Kate, is not very observant, so she probably doesn't even realise she ditched us nearby an island. It's not very big but it's better than nothing. So, can you swim, say, a few hundred feet?"

"If it means not drowning, I can fly", he said, now with the tiniest suggestion of his signature smirk on his face. Not that Felice would have ever said such things out loud, but it did give her courage. "Come on", she simply said, granting him a sly smile.

It took them a good while to struggle through the storm and get to the island. By the time they reached the sandy beach, they were both practically two limp sacks of sugar that only made it to the shore because the waves washed them there. There was hardly any emerging from the sea, only weak and tired crawling just far enough so that being pulled back by the waves was not an immediate threat. For the longest time neither spoke a single word, and there were only the sounds of the storm and their coughing and gasping.

"I'm sorry", Felice finally broke the silence. "I'm so sorry you got involved in this mess because of me. And I'm sorry I was a shit to you. I just… didn't… expect anything from you. I didn't expect at all." Lying on her back on the ground, she turned her head to face Edward. "I didn't expect things because I didn't want to feel disappointed, but what that really meant was that I couldn't see your friendship and loyalty. I'm sorry." Her hand reached out to grab his, and her eyes, and this was something she would later deny even to herself, grew just a tad moist.

"You swallowed seawater, didn't you?" Edward said, his tone flat but eyes smiling. A deep laughter shook Felice's body before she said, her face softer than it had been in years: "But do you forgive me, even though I'm a little bit awful?" She felt his hand squeezing hers as he said: "Of course I do."

They remained there, lying on the beach, faces towards the sky, the rain washing their bodies, and the waves tickling their feet. Suddenly, completely out of nowhere, Felice said: "Edward?"

"Yes?" the man replied, his voice tired but calm.

"She stole my hat."

They exchanged a glance before filling the air with exhausted laughter.


End file.
